


A Creature Of Heroic Blood

by nitpickyabouttrains



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Dear Yuletide Recipient, F/M, I hope you enjoy this present I wrote for you, I know you asked for shenanigans, PTSD, So here are some sad shenanigans, Some haunted shenanigans, Some shenanigans with feels, Yuletide 2013
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-12
Updated: 2013-12-12
Packaged: 2018-01-04 09:55:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1079573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nitpickyabouttrains/pseuds/nitpickyabouttrains
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, when Felicity closed her eyes, the world was still shaking, like in the quake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Creature Of Heroic Blood

**Author's Note:**

  * For [treble](https://archiveofourown.org/users/treble/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide! I hope you enjoy your present.

“Felicity?” Oliver’s deep voice called out to her, cutting through everything else.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, enough at least to answer Oliver. Without opening her eyes, she answered, “Yes?” Her voice still warbled more than she wanted it to.

“What’s wrong?” Oliver sounded closer than just a second before, right up by her face. She could practically feel him standing right next to her, heat radiating off of him, from his workout. He had been using the salmon ladder last time she looked up from her computer. “Are you hurt?”

It was an interesting question to ask. They were in the basement of Verdant, it was a quiet night, there was no mission or field work. Diggle had called it quits hours before and gone home. Felicity was sitting behind her screens, doing some maintenance to her system, enjoying the peace, while Oliver worked out. There was nothing to hurt her at her desk. Yet there was such fear in Oliver’s voice, such trepidation.

Above them, Verdant was packed. It as a Friday night and the club was busy. The bass from the music beat strongly, strong enough that it poured into the lair, even through the soundproof walls. When the music got loud enough, she could feel it, down there, like the whole floor was moving. That was the problem.

Sometimes, when Felicity closed her eyes, the world was still shaking, like in the quake.

Slowly, carefully, Felicity blinked open her eyes. Her lids felt heavy, weighed down, and she wanted nothing more than to slam them down again. She knew what she would see, the walls moving, dust flying, just like it had that day. Instead she let herself look. Oliver was right there, inches from her face, his eyes wide and filled with worry.

“I’m fine,” she said, and she tried to mean it. Felicity met Oliver’s stare full on, with as much confidence as she could muster.

“You don’t look fine,” he said, reaching out slowly, much slower then he normally moved, like he was making sure she could see every motion. Oliver picked up her balled up hands from her lap, wrapping his long fingers around her fists. “You are shaking,” he observed.

She looked down at their intertwined hands with surprise. “Am I?”

“Like a leaf,” he confirmed. “Tell me what is wrong.”

Everything had changed since The Undertaking. Of course it had. Half a city could not be destroyed, five hundred people could not be killed, without everything being different. Months had passed already, everyone was moving on. Oliver had left and come back, changed his endgame even. But sometimes, when Felicity was down in the newly redone basement of the club, and the situation was just right, she felt like it was not over.

Memories of that day, of the whole world crashing down around her, sprung, unbidden, back into her mind. It was like the Undertaking was still happening. Like she did not know if she would live, if the building on top of her would stand. The terror came back to her, the fear; she lived it again and again.

But usually she was alone when this happened. That, or she was able to pull herself back from the brink before Oliver or Diggle noticed anything was off. She had been working on that, on practiced breathing and centering herself. On getting through it so she could keep working on Arrow missions. Not tonight apparently.

“I’m fine,” she said again, but as she was speaking, the music beat louder, and her desk shook just a little, and she flinched.

She knew Oliver saw it, too. Every muscle in his body reacted, like they were in danger. He tensed up, his eyes leaving her face and flicking around the room, looking for the threat. His back got straighter, his neck taut and his arms clenched, so that his hands held on to her tighter. There was no danger to see, nothing she needed to be protected from. Nothing for him to punch.

It was all in her head.

As much as she did not want to burden Oliver with her problems - he had enough to deal with, after all, what with being CEO and Arrow - she could see that he was not about to let this go. With a sigh, she told him the truth. “It’s just that sometimes, when I am down here, and the music is loud enough to move everything…” She shrugged.

“You are back there,” he said, understanding dawning on his face. He lifted one of his hands from hers, to the side of her head, and tapped one finger on her temple. “In your mind. You are reliving it.”

“The quake.” She nodded in agreement.

His blue eyes scanned her face, for a moment, as he processed the information. There was something in those glowing cobalt orbs, a sorrow. Sadness and understanding. He knew what it was to relive something in your mind, to have a moment that played back over and over, haunting you. For Felicity it was one terrible night, but he had five years’ worth of the island in his head.

“I’m sorry,” he said, the finger on her temple falling back, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear and tucking it there, so that his whole hand now cupped her face.

“Sorry?” she repeated, unsure.

Oliver nodded. “I am sorry that you were here, alone. I am sorry that I did not come back for you, once the device went off. You said you were fine, but I heard your voice break, over the comms. I went to CNRI, but I should have come here.”

“But,” Felicity scrunched up her nose, thinking about what he was suggesting, “what about Laurel? And Tommy?”

“I couldn’t save Tommy,” Oliver said, his voice steady and firm. “And Laurel had her father there, watching out for her. But you did not need to be alone. I am sorry, Felicity.”

The beat hit again, but this time Felicity did not startle, with Oliver’s warm hand on her face, grounding her.

+++

A pile of panelling and insulation took up a large part of the basement, when Felicity came in the next day. Diggle and Oliver were not around, so she went to go see what they were up to. It was still early, before Verdant opened for the night, so Felicity opened the door to the main floor, knowing Oliver liked to check on the club sometimes.

She stepped out, closing the door behind her, and paused. Oliver was up there, all right, having a heated conversation with his sister. Felicity knew she shouldn’t, but she listened in anyway.

“It’s a club, Ollie,” Thea said with a huff, crossing her arms.

“I know that.” Oliver rolled his eyes. “And I am not saying you need to play jazz music or ask people to waltz. I am just asking you to turn down the bass.”

Thea frowned at him. “I know you don’t really like the party scene these days, but don’t you remember what it was like? The thumping bass is the heartbeat of a place like this. What makes you think you know what is better for the club patrons then the DJ?”

Felicity watched as Oliver took in what his sister said and tried to come up with a rebuttal. She knew why he was doing this. For her. He did not want her to be upset when she was there. But she could also see that he was fighting a losing battle. Unless Oliver wanted to tell Thea the truth, which was more complicated than just Felicity not liking it, he had no cards to play.

Oliver proved her wrong.

“Please, Thea,” his voice was soft, not the one he usually used when he was pretending to be pre-island Oliver. Real. He sounded genuine. “Just for a week or so.”

Thea obviously heard the change in his voice too. She let out a heavy sort of sigh, one far too old and world weary for someone her age. “Fine,” she agreed. “I will ask the DJ to watch the levels.”

Oliver leaned over and placed a quick kiss on the top of Thea’s head. “Thank you.” Then he turned and started back toward the staircase to the lair. Felicity did not move fast enough, and then Oliver was there, standing in front of her. He put out a hand, to stop himself from running into her, and it landed on her arm.

“Oh,” he said, looking surprised to see her. “I didn’t know…how long were you…”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Felicity cut him off, “Ask Thea to change anything for me, I mean. Not that I don’t appreciate it, I do. It’s going to be much easier to get work done without having to worry about having a flashback. But I didn’t think you were going to do something which could affect your whole  business.”

“It’s just for a little while,” Oliver said, like it was nothing. It was everything. “Until I can make the soundproofing down there better.”

Felicity put her hand on his chest, right near his heart. Through his shirt she could feel his solid muscles, tightening and tensing. “You didn’t have to,” she repeated, “And you don’t have to redo the insulation to keep out the noise. So, thank you.”

“I would have done more, sooner,” he said, looking down at her, pulling her in a little closer, “if I had known.”

Felicity lifted her eyes to meet his. They were unmasked, which was unusual for Oliver, full of care and trepidation. What for, she was not sure. Not until his free hand wrapped itself around her waist, pulling her flush with his body, and his head bent down, their lips meeting.

The kiss was brief and chaste, Oliver’s lips pressed against hers quickly. They were warm and soft and a little chapped. And before Felicity even knew what was happening, they were gone again.

“Oliver?” she said, trying not to get lost in the deep pools of his eyes. There was such longing there, such worry. She reached up, her hand going around the back of his neck, pulling his head back down, and captured his lips again. This time she was in control. She kissed him deeply, using her tongue and lips to show him he did not need to hesitate. Oliver responded right away, no longer gentle, kissing her back.

Oliver let out a low growl and he pulled back the second time. His breath ghosted over her lips, and her hands were trembling again. Oliver must have felt it, against his chest, because he pulled her in closer.

He looked at her, his expression serious and fierce. “I won’t leave you alone again.”


End file.
